tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Wed Apr 09 18:19:42 1997
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RE: KLBC: Old "Kung Fu" phrase
Sorry it's taken me so long to respond, but I've been out of town the past
few days.
>> I have attempted to translate the following phrase from the old "Kung Fu"
>> series into tlhIngan Hol: "When you walk across the sands of the beach and
>> do not leave a footprint, only then will you have learned."
>The first error deals with Type 5 noun suffixes. TKD 4.4 tells us that
when a
>noun with a Type 5 noun suffix is modified by a verb (as an adjective), the
>Type 5 suffix is placed on the verb instead of the noun. Thus, you must say
>{lam QeyHa'Daq}.
Oops. Thanks.
>Now, we've never seen a verb with {-Ha'} act as an adjective. TKD 4.4 tells
>us that the only suffix allowed on these verbs is {-qu'}. However, Okrand
>himself violates this with at least one sentence, from Conversational
Klingon:
>{wa'maH yIHmey lI'be'} "ten useless tribbles." I'm not dead-set against
using
>{-Ha'}. Especially in this case: {QeyHa'} has its own entry in TKD. So,
for
>now, let's admit it.
Thanks again. I merely looked up the word for "loose" because I wanted to
convey the image of soil with the same texture and consistancy as sand, so
I though "loose dirt" would do the trick. I'm still learning my grammar
and had no idea I had (possibly?) violated a rule.
>Most of the rest is looking good, until you get to the verb {jatlh}.
>Before I go on with this, though, let me ask you: why do you even want to
>mention "talking"? The original isn't about what you can say, but about
what
>you have learned.
I was wishing to convey the image of being able to claim that you have
learned great knowledge. In other words, "when you can walk across the
sands and not leave a footprint, then you can say (i.e.,claim) that you
have learned great knowledge." But I see your point and since I don't know
of an alternative way of conveying that message, I'm leaving it out of my
next draft.
>
>The only problem here is that Klingon seems to lack a good way to express
"if
>and only if" in this instance.
Tell me about it. I thought I was going to go crazy trying to convey "if
and only if". I tried to work <'e'> as a type 5 noun suffix into the mix,
but I couldn't figure out how to do it. Maybe Okrand's new book will help. :)
Well, anyway, here's my next draft. Tell me what you think.
lam QeyHa'Daq bIyItlaHchugh 'ej yav gItlhbe'chugh qamlij, Sov'a' Daghajta'.
batlh bIHeghjaj!
Banzai
"I say there naughty-spawn, knock off all that evil!"--The Tick